In Box

by Karen Director
November 1997

The Truth Is Out There
Your May 1997 feature, "Nonlinear Digital Video: Trouble in Paradise" claims that SCSI is the necessary hard drive for video work. I find this very misleading to your readers as you do not mention EIDE at all. My company only uses EIDE to produce professional quality (640x480 at 8:1 compression) promo videos for our clients. I’ve found, with the right PC motherboard and proper configuration settings, EIDE works just fine. Also, a new EIDE interface has emerged, Ultra-ATA technology with burst transfer rates of up to 33MBs. That’s almost double that of normal FAST-ATA EIDE drives.

You also mention devoting a computer exclusively to nonlinear editing. Again using only EIDE, with my system I am able to produce high-quality videos on my PC while also using the same system with MS Office, a ton of audio editing programs, a couple of graphics programs, Lotus 123, Word, Internet browsers, etc.

There is a lot to know about computer hardware, settings, and specs that can make EIDE either work or not. It doesn’t seem that you’re sharing this with your readers.

Dennis Hingsberg
Internet

Copyright Caution
I recently had a prospective client call about producing a video montage at my video production studio. In our conversation the subject of music surfaced. The client wanted to use music that they had found. When I told them that the musical pieces were copyrighted, they were not too concerned. The client was not satisfied with my use of buy-out music. A few hours later the client called again to say that they had talked with other videographers in our area, and all agreed that the use of copyrighted music would not be a problem, as they do it all the time.

I would suggest that Videomaker again advise their readers that the use of copyrighted music is illegal, without the permission of the owner and usually the payment of a fee. Even the church I attend has to obtain a copyright license just to print choruses and songs in their bulletin. The use of music by any videographer who sells his work is not only illegal, but unethical.

The copyright violation fine per violated incident is several thousand dollars and enough to bankrupt most businesses.

The bottom line is that if you sell your tape(s), enter them in a contest, or make any money off your tapes in any way, you have violated the copyright law if you have not obtained permission to use the music.

Dennis Adams
Fillmore, California

Magazine with a Mission
I’m glad to see in Matt York’s "Viewfinder" columns that you still have not forgotten your mission as a magazine. Regardless of whether you use a VHS camcorder or a full-blown editing suite to get your message across, we all can benefit from more people being educated in using the video medium to get their messages out. Technology is great but your magazine has never lost sight of the basics.

Steve Schmitz
Internet

Projector Fantasy
For several years I have been a subscriber of Videomaker magazine and I must say that it is one of the best, if not the best magazine on the market. By reading your publication, I have learned a lot about the art of videography, to the point where I even teach that subject to a number of seniors at my winter home in Florida.

At the present time I am the President of the Photographic Club in our in our Florida community and we are now ready to show our own video productions to our members and guests. We want to do this on our large slide projection screen that is approximately 10 feet by 10 feet. But in order to show our productions, we need a large-screen video projector. Unfortunately, Videomaker has never dealt with the subject of video projectors.

It would be very helpful to me, and I’m sure for others as well, if you would publish an article or maybe a buyer’s guide on this subject.

Gunter Betche
Toronto, Ontario Canada

A Friend Indeed
A short time ago I was seeking advice on what type of camera, edit deck and monitor to buy. I consulted the engineer at the Minneapolis Television Network and he suggested your magazine. When I picked up a copy of Videomaker, it seemed as though I’d found a new friend.

I’m learning many things I was too embarrassed to ask. The writers speak to both the layman and the professional. Thanks to the plethora of incredibly useful tips and stories, I can now feel 110% more confident when buying equipment.

Brian Jonas
Minneapolis, Minnesota

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